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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25577770">No Such Thing</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Em_is_here/pseuds/Em_is_here'>Em_is_here</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rapunzel Appreciation Week [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arguing, Destiny, F/M, Night Terrors, Rapunzel Appreciation Week 2020 (Disney), Rapunzel does reckless things because she believes in destiny, and how it's stupid, and that's the teaaaa, but this time, from eugene and adelaide's mouths, my own internal ramblings about destiny, she's such a sweet cinnamon roll, why do I do this to Emilia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:22:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,015</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25577770</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Em_is_here/pseuds/Em_is_here</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rapunzel and Eugene disagree on the existence of Destiny.</p><p>Adelaide gets involved.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rapunzel Appreciation Week [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1850173</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>No Such Thing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“There is no such thing as Destiny, Rapunzel!”</p><p>The volume, more than anything, was what stopped her in her tracks. At least at first. Eugene never shouted. Not once in their marriage had he ever shouted. </p><p>She looked up from where she was stroking her daughter’s hair. Emilia had had another bad episode, screaming about the people in her bedroom when she woke up. It had just been night terrors and the two of them had managed to get her back to sleep in her own bed by promising they would not leave her until she fell asleep.</p><p>Rapunzel had made a comment. A little thing - how Emilia seemed destined to have a hard life, what with the constant night terrors and the demons in her head - had set him off.</p><p>He moved from his perch on the other side of the bed, coming to kneel in front of her, clasping her free hand in both of his. “Sunshine,” he said, much quieter now, “there is no such thing as destiny. Emilia is not destined to have a hard life, there is something wrong in her head that is causing the problems. It was not written in the stars, it is a cruel and random act by a cruel and random universe. There is no narrative causality in real life! Please tell me you know that!” She tilted her head to the side, right hand still stroking Emilia’s hair. He was crying. Why was he crying over this.</p><p>“Do I know that Eugene? There are poems thousands of years old that had literal relevance to my life.”</p><p>“They were magic spells!” He was exasperated, letting his head fall to her knees. “Rapunzel,” he lifted his head, but did not look up at her yet, “my love. It was not destiny that compelled our journey to my father’s kingdom.” He looked up at her then, “It was your goodness and bravery and curiosity about the world. The fact that you contained what was essentially a spell ingredient is purely incidental. You could have chosen to stay in Corona and let the situation get worse. It was not destiny that brought me to your tower twenty years ago, it was a horse and chance.”</p><p>“If that’s true, then what was the point? What was the point of the struggle and hardship and betrayal?”</p><p>“There was no point. There was no point to my awful childhood, there was no point to Gothel abusing you for years, there is no point to Emilia having to battle her own head to get a good night’s sleep. There’s no point to any of it. It is just life, my darling. Life and people being who they are - sometimes awful, sometimes wonderful. But entirely random.”</p><p>Rapunzel shook her head, not willing to believe that there was no purpose to anything. “If that is true, Eugene, then why bother to do anything. No, I cannot believe that. There has to be a purpose, a reason otherwise what’s the point of it all!” She stood up, quite sharply, dropping his hands and stalking from the room. </p><p>Adelaide stood in the door to her room, watching her mother stalk down the hallway. Emilia’s door was still open and she crept towards it. Her father was knelt by Emilia’s bed, crying softly into the sheets.</p><p>“Dad?” She saw him turn at her voice, wiping away tears. </p><p>“What is it, sweetheart?” </p><p>“Why were you and Mum arguing over destiny?”</p><p>“Your mother believes in it, I do not and think she will do something rash because of it.” Meaning she had before. She might only be twelve, but Adelaide wasn’t stupid. She kissed her dad’s head and moved to the door.</p><p>“Where are you going, young lady?”</p><p>“To make sure Mum doesn’t do anything rash tonight so you can deal with my brothers.” She gestured to the door where Fred and Klaus were standing, a little sheepish at being caught. Then she slipped past them, pushing them into the room and closing the door in the process. </p><p>This late at night, her mum would probably be in the gardens, on her bench. So that’s where Adelaide ran off to. To find her mother with her head between her knees exactly where she thought she would be. Adelaide just sat down beside her and leaned into her side.</p><p>“Hi Honey. What’cha doing up so late?”</p><p>“It’s a little difficult to sleep through Emilia screaming and then Dad yelling to be honest with you. I left the boys with Dad.” Her mother just nodded. </p><p>“Makes sense. Dad tell you what we were arguing about?”</p><p>“Destiny as a concept. And how Dad thinks it drives you to do rash things because you think it’s destined.”</p><p>Her mum laughed. “He would frame it like that. Your Dad finds comfort in free will. That concept terrifies me because it means you can take the wrong path in life.”</p><p>“Surely it just means that there is no wrong path? If there’s no destiny whatever path you chose is the right path for you. You chose to leave the tower with a man you had met ten minutes before, rather than staying with the mother you knew. That was obviously the correct path for you, but only because you took it. If you hadn’t, you would have stayed with her the rest of your life and then that would have been the correct path. You chose it, not the stars. That’s pretty cool, if you think about it. It means we have the power, the control over our lives.”</p><p>“You’re a pretty smart twelve year old, anyone ever tell you that?”</p><p>Adelaide grinned. “On occasion.” She hopped up and offered her mother her hand, “Want a walk?”</p><p>She stood up and took it. “Always. Rose path then back upstairs to see the damage?”</p><p>Adelaide pressed into her mother’s side. She might only be a child, and have no experience with her own choices, but even though her mother couldn’t see it, her life proved to her children that there was no such thing as destiny.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Rapunzel Appreciation Week, Day 3 - Destiny</p><p>I really don't like the concept of destiny</p><p>Can you tell?</p><p>What can I say, I like being in charge of my own choices, thanks. </p><p>Head to Tumblr for all of the content appreciating Rapunzel</p></blockquote></div></div>
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